Battle On Destiny
by VytalFest
Summary: Earth has undergone many changes over time. Some things would be better left as terrible legend, but at the same time, they offer a reminder of the darkest days that humanity has faced, and that we are only immortal in the light of the Traveler.
1. chapter 1

_Guardian!_

A disgruntled, confused figure sat up from the dust and dirt of. . . wherever she was.

 _Eyes up, Guardian!_

Guardian? What? The female Awoken blinked and looked up to see a floating white star. At least, that was the most fitting description for it, she guessed. Where was she? As if she could recognize anything. What had even happened before she woke up? She didn't even remember going to sleep..

 _We've got to get inside! It isn't safe here!_ The little star wobbled back and forth in the air, its glowing center orb looking from the Awoken to the wall, and back to her. So. . the thing spoke. It seemed to be distressed, probably because of whatever made this place unsafe, its spokes spinning and rearranging itself. Whatever her name was, she was really confused. The star seemed to understand that, though.

 _Look, you've been dead for a really long time, so you're going to see a lot of things that you won't recognize._

What the fuck? The Awoken sprang up then, looking around frantically, for what, she didn't know. She'd been dead?

The star floated a little lower. It seemed agitated about something, but then again so was she.

 _Look, I am a Ghost. Specifically, I am your Ghost. And I have got to get you out of the Cosmodrome._

Okay, what the hell was a Ghost? If she'd been dead, then why was she brought back to life? And how? She opened her mouth to begin an assault of questions but shut it as she realized that she had no idea what her own voice would even sound like. Did she still have a voice? There was so much to consider regarding how much of her was actually there and she was very confused.

Suddenly, the star flew behind her and disappeared in a random scramble of light. At the same time, a cold feeling seeped into her. Possibly to her bones. There was more than just her now.

 _Don't worry, I'm still here,_ it said, but it felt odd. There was no star for the voice to come out of, but it wasn't inside her head either. It seemed to project, from where, she had no idea.

 _I_ need _to get you out of here._

Somewhere off in the distance, something roared, and the reality of danger finally caught up to the Awoken. Call it instinct or muscle memory, whatever it was that lead the Awoken to crouch low to the ground saved her from a bolt of bright, blue energy as it arced through the cold air and landed in a nearby rusted and broken down car. She didn't want to imagine what would've happened if it had hit her.

 _There's a hole if you run for that huge wall._

From a distance, it seemed pretty unlikely, but compared to whatever it was behind her that was eager to kill her, the little star talking to her seemed like a much better option. She braced herself on her toes, and booked it.

To her surprise, her legs were powerful. _Still_ powerful, perhaps. Every footfall crunched through thin layers of snow and grass, and she could hear it, along with the blood now pounding in her ears. It was during this full-blown sprint that she realized what she was wearing - thick leather armor with fabric underneath and sturdy cloth wraps in the gaps between the leather. All of it was black. All of it was light. The feeling of absolute freedom as her legs stretched faltered for a second when a waypoint flashed into her vision. Whoa.

 _I can set little waypoints to help you, but you need to keep moving forward,_ the voice piped up helpfully.

Alright then, back to getting the hell away from the whatever-majig.

As she got closer, she realized that there was, in fact, a hole in the wall. Not quite what had been expected, but she decided she couldn't complain. The hole-slash-doorway turned into a ninety-degree angle that she had to slow down to get through, but she maintained a good speed overall. Either that or whatever thing that shot energy balls was too lazy to chase her all this way.

She slowed down gradually to a stop as everything around her grew dark, but there was no need to. The little start reappeared - this time glowing - and told her to stay put while he looked for a weapon. She assumed the thing was a dude because it sounded like one. Very little time had passed where she was with the floating light bulb, but she found herself suddenly alone and frightened being left without it. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the little glowing light to drift back towards her.

But it did the thing. The seemingly inside her thing.

 _I found a weapon for you just a little way ahead,_ was all it said.

She followed the waypoint, grateful for the glow the star provided even without being physically present, to a few crates. Leaning against the nearest one was a rifle. She picked it up and looked it over. The size wasn't too big, it wasn't heavy, and when she lifted it to look through the sights something clicked. No memories rushed forward, but she knew that she'd held a gun before. When she aimed at a smear of mud on the wall and pulled the trigger, she was ready for the kick of recoil. Three-burst shots. A pulse rifle.

Keep moving forward.

 _What?_

Time to test her voice. Apparently, as amazing as her new little companion was, he could not read her thoughts. Probably for the best.

"I'm not sure," she said, hesitantly. Her voice sounded like it was somewhere in the mid-range and gentle. No complaints there. At least it sounded like it belonged to a girl, which was all she guessed she could ask for.

"It's just something in my head that seemed important to me."

 _Hmm. Maybe it was your last thought before you died._

Gee thanks, Ghost. That was really helpful. One thing she did not need was to be thinking about her end, whatever way it had happened.

Just then something big stumbled into the room. Well, actually, it was a tall man clad in full metal armor, like a knight. No, that wasn't quite right. More like a paladin. There was a golden, double-bladed axe the size of his whole upper body in one of his hands and he wasn't wearing a helmet, so she could see all of his brown hair swept to the right, and eyes that matched in color. He grinned at her, hefting his axe onto his shoulder.

"Hey there."

What the hell was this? Frowning, she did her best to not come off as rude - not that it mattered - while she thought with all her might: Any explanation for this, Ghost?

Whether or not it understood her, it did beep a brief, quiet tune, like a chirp.

"I'm guessing you're new here," the man said, still grinning. "Allow me to introduce myself."

For some reason, the Awoken found herself scoffing. Something about this reminded her of something old, something worth cringing about. She blinked and tilted her head to one side, struggling to think of a reason why a simple introduction would make her react in such a way.

Meanwhile..

"My name's Artix, and I'm a paladin of light. Would you like to join me?"

The Awoken took a step back, cringing further. "Join you in what? For what?"

"Join my party," he answered. "Then we can fight alongside each other."

"You don't even know who I am."

The dude, er. Artix.. shrugged carelessly. "Well, what is your name, hunter?"

Come to think of it… What was her name? She hadn't thought of that. This whole time she'd been wondering about how she was alive again and where she was. Did her uh, Ghost, know? After floundering about in silence for a few seconds, Artix offered her a way out of this dilemma.

"If you don't want to tell me your name, what would you like me to call you?"

An alias? For all she knew, she might never come to remember what her name actually was. The person she'd been in the past could've been long gone - a speck left behind as time and the universe kept evolving. So, if she created a new name for herself, it would have to be a name that she would feel comfortable hearing and answering to, and she wanted it to mean something to her.

 _Might I suggest Sira?_

Seemingly understanding the need for her to talk to a random disembodied voice, Artix shifted his axe to his other shoulder and leaned over so his weight was more on his right leg than his left. Wanting to take advantage of the much-appreciated, unjudged time to talk with her little companion, she turned away from Artix and nearly sighed with relief when she felt her companion enter reality and reappear in front of her.

"Why Sira?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow at it.

The light in the orb at the center went out for a millisecond and returned. The action reminded the Awoken of a blink.

 _It means desired,_

it said without further explanation.

The Awoken glanced at Artix, then looked back at the little star. "I know he seems pretty eager to have me in his party-"

 _Fireteam,_ it interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

 _Guardians call them fireteams. For the sake of keeping consistent with him when we re-engage in interaction, you may call it a party, as he does, but at the Tower and with other Guardians, the term is fireteam._

She blinked slowly, taking the information in. Was there even a difference? No clue, but she returned to her original thought.

"Okay, I know he seems pretty eager to have me in his fireteam, but I wouldn't call myself _desired._ He's one person."

The star beeped in an incredulous tone - if one could do that.

 _I didn't mean you, yourself, to other people. I meant your name, your character_ , it explained, which the Awoken felt it should have done in the first place. _You desire to rediscover who you are and reclaim your memories from when you were first alive - your origin story._

It beeped again, this time less edgily, and tilted in its suspended spot midair. _Would that be a suitable name for you?_

The name was simple, only two syllables. And when she said it herself, it sounded nice. Sira. _Sira._

"Yeah," she whispered, finally coming to the decision that she liked it. "It does. Thank you. . ."

 _Ghost is fine. Just call me Ghost._

Calling something Ghost might have been a little morbid, but whatever. If it was okay with being called that.. "Thank you, Ghost."

 _No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going. Physically, I mean._

"Wait!" Sira was reluctant to let her Ghost leave her alone again, even if it was only in body. Having a visual of it was comforting.

 _I will be right here. If ever you should require my presence or assistance, simply focus on a focal point for me to appear. Most Guardians choose to hold out their left palm._

"So that's what I felt when you.. first joined me and when you went away.."

 _Right._

Without further ado, Sira's Ghost rejoined her, and the pleasant cool feeling returned to her system, making her feel lighter. It was like slipping into a pool in the middle of the night, except it was only her insides that were becoming cold. Although, she did still have one more question to ask.

"If I have to focus on a single point for you to come out, how were you able to come back out earlier?"

 _It's just helpful for you to do that. You don't actually need to. But even when you don't think about it, I can calculate the most practical position for me to appear. For example, out on the field, I would probably pop up over your shoulder or somewhere to your side._

"Alright." Sira turned her attention back to Artix. Sensing this, he straightened up and shot her a charming grin.

"Your name, fair maiden?" Ugh, Sira swore if she could reach him from where she was, she would wipe that grin off his face. Hadn't she been in danger only a few minutes ago? Where was he and his huge axe earlier?

"Sira," she muttered. "Though I doubt we'll be spending much time together, if any. Also, I am not a _fair maiden._ "

Hearing this visibly startled the paladin. His eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard what I said."

"I am sorry to have assumed your status. Your finger lacked a ring and so I thought you were a maiden."

Sira realized right then what maiden probably meant and stomped on the ground, huffing. "I _mean_ I'm not fair in the innocent sense. Nor am I any form of lady or damsel in distress. Excuse me for that. I'm just not into all that frailty mumbo jumbo." Hm. Didn't realize she felt so strongly about that, but that was that.

Artix's eyes relaxed once more, humor twinkling within them. "No, clearly not. You have the makings of a fierce hero." Then he extended his free hand, palm facing upward. "So, will you join my party?"

"Sure, why not."

The laugh that escaped Artix wasn't one that Sira had been expecting. Being offended by the apathetic-sounding response, yeah. A laugh? What was up with this guy? Just how long had he been down here in this hole in the wall? Speaking of which, didn't they need to get out of there?

"Should we be going?"

That brought Artix back into the reality of their situation. He cleared his throat and let his axe swing down off his shoulder and caught it at the end of its swing with his other hand.

"Yeah," he grunted. "Follow me."

Sira took one step towards him and froze at the sound and sight of creatures clothed in scraps of fabric scaling the sides of the walls. Granted, they were separated by a good distance and sections of wooden structures, but how long would that last?

 _Fallen!_

"Wha-"

"No time for explanations," Artix cut in. "We're gonna' have to fight our way out of here."

A chittering growl sounded from somewhere beyond the wall as if to emphasize his point.

"... Okay."

Sira readied her rifle and moved forward.


	2. Chapter 2

_Look out!_ Sira's Ghost called out in warning as an insectoid creature with four arms dropped down and swung at her. Luckily, Artix swung his axe at it in the same moment, carving a huge gash in the creature's side, and it fell.

"Thanks." Sira looked down at the slain enemy, trying to return her heart beat to a steady pace. "This is.. Fallen?"

Artix nodded at the same time that the Ghost said, _Yes._

 _They are notorious scavengers and pirates that fly under different house flags._

"Is that so?" Sira cautiously nudged the dead creature's body with her foot. It was maybe just as tall as she was if it were to stand, and its mandibles were still parted in a now suspended scream. It looked like it should've had four arms, but the two lower ones were cut short, leaving short half-limbs in their place. Not exactly the easiest thing to look at. She lifted her head so she wouldn't have to notice anything else disturbing about it. "And what house did this one fly under?"

 _The House of Devils,_ her Ghost replied.

Oh, joy.

 _They fly under a red banner and consider themselves a group of nobility. They have also been the most pervasive, establishing a lair here in the Cosmodrome, so close to The City._

Artix pushed on forward and Sira followed behind closely, still conversing with her Ghost.

"So I'm pretty sure I'm not going to like the answer to this, but do these things have a sort of caste system?"

 _Indeed. Dregs - like the one Artix killed - can be considered to be the lowest rank out of the Fallen. In their own language, they are called Eliksni._

If that was a small fry, what were the higher ranks like? Sira had the sickening feeling that she would inevitably find out.

Throughout the entire walk she was alert and on the lookout for more Fallen. So far she'd only seen a Dreg, but surely if some other ranking attacked she'd be able to tell. Were higher ranking Fallen allowed to keep their two lower arms? . . . Would that be more helpful for them, or less? What did they want?

 _This used to be an old cosmodrome, so there should be a ship somewhere that we can use._

Okay, so they would need to find their own ride out of there. Should that have made sense to her? She was still trying to process everything.

Artix led them to a dark, open area. There was a bridge with railings that were falling apart, and it connected to the other side of that section of the wall where even more Fallen were waiting for them.

"Time to put that gun to use," said Artix.

Sira raised her rifle up to her face again and looked through the scope, zooming in on an individual that was significantly taller than the Dreg from earlier with its own type of rifle aimed directly at her. At the same time, her Ghost put up a red health bar above the Fallen in her view, with the word _Vandal_ directly above that. As interesting as that all was, she was in no rush to be reacquainted with death, so she pulled the trigger. Bits of the Vandal's health chipped away with each landed bullet until there was only half of its health remaining. Another trigger pull. Down went the Vandal, spraying a red-blue ichor as it dropped with a thud that Sira couldn't hear as she was already turning her attention to what was apparently called a Shank.

The Shanks were blue machines, levitating in the air, equipped with small guns. They were maybe about as big as a beach ball, if you could smash the tops in. Sira took aim and shot.

 _ **Brup-up-up.**_

Another enemy, down. Meanwhile, Artix was getting up close and personal with the Fallen, swinging his axe and dodging a few shots like there was nothing that could bring him down. Granted, a few shots did hit him, but his armor protected him well. No matter how many misgivings she'd had about him, she could no longer deny that it was a good decision to join his fireteam. Why he wanted such an obviously inexperienced teammate when he could do this on his own was beyond her, though.

Near the end of their little battle, the two had fallen into a synergized rhythm. Artix fought from a _very_ close distance, and Sira would cover him from a slight distance away with her pulse rifle. By the time they were through, Artix was smiling again.

"Nice," he praised, giving her a thumbs up.

"Thanks." He probably could've done better on his own but whatever. "You fought really well."

"Eh. I've been doing this for awhile. Experience just kind of adds up."

Well, they weren't out of the woods yet. Sira would still need to find her way out of this environment, wherever _this_ was.

"Where are we?" she asked, falling back into step behind Artix as he led them farther forward.

"An old cosmodrome in what used to be Russia, on Earth," he responded easily. "This planet isn't what it used to be, but we've still got to fight for something, whether it be for Good or Evil, or various factions. Helps keep people sane."

That was… An unexpectedly longer and more honest answer than she'd been asking. If everyone fought for something to stay sane, what would _she_ fight for when the time came for her to decide? Would she know the moment it came?

Artix laughed. "Don't stress yourself out about it. You can change your alignment whenever you want."

That was kinda' a relief. So, theoretically, she could choose "Good" and then change her mind to fight for "Evil." Cool. Cool. Interesting way to run things. She wasn't judging. This was a whole system that she was unaccustomed to. She wasn't even properly introduced to it yet. Heck, for all she knew, the system could be entirely broken or Artix could be lying.

"Okay," SIra said, looking up at the back of Artix's huge shoulder armor. "So how exactly do things run around here?"

"For you Guardians, you run around doing errands for the vanguard and save people from many, many foes. Or you can spend all of your time in the crucible for Lord Shaxx. Heads up, though: He'll yell a lot and can get _really_ excited if you do well in combat. A lot of us, however, haven't been blessed with the Light of the Traveler. We only get our one life."

This information took Sira by surprise. "You mean, I can die and come back?"

Artix nodded. "Your Ghost is what enables you to do so. It holds a portion of Light from the Traveler."

"Who's the Traveler?"

"Well, it looks more like an _it_ than a who."

Wait, what? "What do you mean?" Confusion felt like Sira's new identity at this point. Her Ghost had been right on the nose; she didn't understand a whole lot.

"You'll see when you get to The City."

That didn't make any sense. "Wait, why can't you tell me right now? And what do you mean when _I_ get to there? Where are you going?"

Artix stopped to look at Sira, trying with his eyes to will her to understand. When all she gave him in return was a defiant glare, he let his axe fall, embedding itself into the ground.

"I'm not going back to The City. In a way, I am just like you. I don't belong here. I serve King Alteon, on a planet like this one."

How the hell he expected her to obtain all that from a single look was beyond her.

Regardless, she summed it up for him. "So you're going to leave me on my own."

For once he wasn't smiling.

She got the message. Part of her was glad. From the moment she first met him she'd been neutral about joining his company. Even now she was eager to be free to journey on her own and figure things out through her own independent experiences. Still, there was something intimidating about the wide, expansive, unknown world. There was something intimidating about it, and something equally exciting.

Turning to look Artix in the eye, Sira asked, "When will you leave?"

Unenthusiastically, he responded with, "As soon as we're back out in the open."

 _I hate to interrupt this, but if I am not mistaken, we should see light again soon._

Artix sighed heavily. "You are right, Ghost. This is not the last time we will see each other, Sira. Still, I'm not so good with goodbyes." He faced Sira with a solemn smile. "If you go on ahead, you will see light again, and the Fallen will no doubt send up a flare to alert the others of the presence of a newly-risen Guardian."

 _We really should get moving._

"Alright, Ghost." So, this was where she'd be leaving Artix's fireteam? They truthfully hadn't stayed together for very long. When she looked up at the paladin, he met her eyes with the sadness of knowledge of the unknown. He knew that, like many other Guardians, Sira would face many hardships, and that even with a Ghost, she would struggle, follow orders for the sake of others, and might not actually make it out of every situation thrown at her. None of this should have been her fight, but it had become hers the moment her Ghost found and revived her.

As Sira walked away, bringing her Ghost up upon her open palm, he had one wish for her until the next time that they'd meet.

"Good luck."

* * *

Sira's first few steps into the open made her want to go back inside, into the darkness and face the Fallen. While running and fighting, she'd been too preoccupied to notice how beaten and barren everything was. Buildings were covered in grime and dirt and everything that could have once been shiny and bright was now dull.

How had the Earth come to this?

She took no more than six steps when a plume of red smoke headed by a bright red light shot up into the sky. A warp in the sky to the left of it followed immediately afterward, distorting the sky around it. From the distortion, a giant ship appeared, and as it solidified the sky returned to normal. The sight was like something out of a sci-fi movie or futuristic video game.

 _That was a Fallen flare! Get moving!_

Sira didn't need to be told twice. Her feet started pumping on their own, each stride propelling her forward, and because of her speed it was only a short time when more Fallen came into view. Like a summoning, as soon as she was visible to the first one, the rest of their heads turned. They began moving, strafing before she even raised her rifle.

Sira's Ghost chirped. _Perhaps you should move._

"And maybe you should hold the rifle, aim, and shoot?" Sira shot back, pulling her rifle up and firing at the closest contact - a Dreg.

 _No, thank you._

"Exactly, so no sarcastic suggestions."

Her Ghost beeped defiantly. _That was not sarcastic._

"And please don't lie to me."

Nothing more was said after that so she assumed her Ghost got the message. They would be spending a whole lot of time together so ground rules needed to be established, right?

More than a dozen dropped Fallen later, Sira was finally led back inside. She took a couple of seconds to catch her breath and calm down before pushing farther inside. Eventually she and her Ghost came to a stop back in an another open clearing.

Suspended by a few thin cables in the middle back of the clearing, right under a gigantic hole, was a simple broken down ship.

 _There's our ship,_ her Ghost announced.

Unfortunately, there was a Fallen Captain and two Vandals standing between the ship and them.

Nothing too difficult. Sira dove for some cover and took care of the two Vandals with two precision shots each before challenging the Captain. It roared defiantly a her, raising its four full upper appendages, its hands curled into fists, before raising its weapon - a ranged weapon akin to a canon.

A sudden heat sparked within Sira's joints and began to spread throughout her nervous system. At the same time, a heavy weight grew on her belt strap. When she looked down to address it, she found that there was a blazing hand cannon in a holster wholly separate from whatever had been there a moment before.

 _Golden Gun!_ her Ghost shouted. _Time to use it!_

Not quite understanding but not needing to be told twice, Sira wielded the burning hand cannon and shot at the Captain. The first shot went beaming straight at it, leaving behind a trail of solar energy in the air and tearing down the Captain's blue shield of energy. The next shot scored right through the its shoulder and the third finished it off, disintegrating it. Almost as soon as the final shot was fired, the heat that had been coursing through Sira's body dissipated, leaving her in a state of disorientation. The adrenaline of using Light in such a powerful way amazed her. Guardians got to do this on a day-to-day basis?

 _Now then,_ her Ghost went on, as if what had just happened was normal as jumping through a hoop. _Let me take a look here…_

Sira obliged, allowing her Ghost to come out and inspect the ship, but she was busy in her own thoughts, wondering how exactly that blaze of glory had happened.

"Ghost, what was that?" she questioned aloud.

Without pausing or looking away from the ship, her Ghost responded. _That was Golden Gun, a subclass and form of focus for you to utilize the Light granted by the Traveler._

"There's that name again," Sira huffed. She was aware that she couldn't hope to instantly understand whatever was said to and around her here, but that didn't stop the stream of frustration that pulled at her. "Just what is the Traveler?"

 _Why don't you take a look for yourself?_

Her Ghost's projected light disappeared, just as the cables keeping the ship up disconnected, swinging freely without anything to keep them in place. _We're out of here!_

Before Sira could say anything she found herself being levitated off the ground. She braced herself for a scrambling sensation but was instead instantly on stable land once more, safely tucked into a pilot's seat.

That had been… quick, and painless.

 _Just guide the wheel,_ her Ghost instructed, hovering just to the right of her head.

With a nod, Sira and her Ghost left the Cosmodrome and headed off for the Last City.

* * *

 **Whoooa hey guys sorry for not updating for a bit ^_^' Finals and then of course prepping for the holidays. But I'm not leaving you completely on your own this Christmas. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you all have a super enjoyable Christmas and a fantastic New Year if I don't upload another chapter by then! 3**

 **Krys: Murray Crustmas! ^w^/)**

 **Sira: _ Happy Holidays**

 **Krys: Merry Chrysler :3**

 **Sira: One time was enough for them.**

 **Bye guys! C:**


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